GENEVA MOTOR SHOW; Looking for a Ray of Light In Europe's Clouds of Gloom

By JERRY GARRETT

Published: March 11, 2012

CORRECTION APPENDED

GENEVA

EVEN before its official opening, mixed messages emerged from the 2012 Geneva Motor Show.

Last Monday, ahead of two days of press previews, the title of 2012 Car of the Year was awarded to the Opel Ampera and its American-market twin, the Chevrolet Volt. The honors for General Motors' plug-in hybrids came just days after production of the Volt had been suspended for five weeks because of slow sales; European deliveries of the Impera began only in February.

The Volt's disappointing sales may well have put knots in the stomachs of several automakers that introduced plug-in models here. While the featured products demonstrated the makers' commitment to building greener, more frugal cars, it was less certain that customers were ready to buy them.

The show, which runs through March 18 at the Palexpo convention center, takes place amid deepening doubts about Europe's economy. Even the winter dished up punishment, with record cold in January and February adding to the Continent's pain.

But new models from Europe's budget carmakers, including Volkswagen's Seat subsidiary and Renault's Dacia, were eagerly received. Optimism reigned at Hyundai and Kia, and luxury brands reported strong, sometimes record-setting sales. There was less cheer at midmarket makes like Citro? Fiat, Ford, Opel and Peugeot, all of which seem to be squeezed from above and below.

Here is a look at some of the significant new offerings shown in Geneva:

AUDI After nearly a decade, Audi has finally gotten around to a redesign, however mild, of its A3 entry-level luxury model. The two-door hatchback shown here is not expected to make it to the United States; instead, a four-door sedan will arrive in about two years.

BENTLEY Despite booming sales, Bentley and its Volkswagen bosses want more, so the answer is to expand into the utility segment. The EXP F9 concept, an imposing all-wheel-drive crossover, is likely to reach production, though perhaps without the 6-liter W-12 engine in the concept model.

BMW The handsome new 6 Series Gran Coupe -- a four-door, despite its name -- is BMW's long-awaited and late-to-market answer to the Audi A7 and the Mercedes-Benz CLS. The 6-cylinder 640i version, starting at $76,895, arrives early this summer.

CHEVROLET The station wagon version of the Cruze compact sedan is meant to appeal to Europe's sizable market of wagon lovers. Chevrolet said it had no plans to offer the wagon in the United States, fearing that it might cut into sales of the Equinox crossover.

FERRARI The Italian supercar company displayed the F12 Berlinetta, its replacement for the 599 GTB Fiorano. With a headline-making V-12 engine of 730 horsepower, the F12 is intended to preserve the brand's performance leadership; the company said the F12 posted the fastest lap times of any Ferrari road car at the Fiorano test track.

FIAT Help is on the way for the little 500 in the form of a stretched ''L'' (for large) version. The addition of two doors seriously impairs the cuteness of the egglike two-door model, but help is needed in Europe, where the reborn 500 has been out since 2007, and in North America, where sales have been slow.

FORD The B-Max is a Fiesta-based microvan with sliding doors providing unfettered access to the second row of seats. Ford's structural wizards created a body that has no B-pillar behind the front doors, incorporating the pillars into the rear doors. The B-Max should find a solid market in Europe, but the deciders in Dearborn have elected not to bring this model to the United States.

HYUNDAI The I-Oniq concept was one of several hybrids introduced here with a practical electric-only range -- 74 miles -- extended by a gasoline engine-generator once the battery runs low. Production prospects are slim, but the car continues Hyundai's string of boldly styled design studies.

INFINITI The Emerg-E design study, another variation of the plug-in hybrid layout, may be so gorgeous that buyers won't care what actually powers it. The midengine sport coupe is driven by a pair of electric motors that together produce about 400 horsepower. When the 16 kilowatt-hour battery fades, a 3-cylinder Lotus engine generates the needed electricity.

JAGUAR The Sportbrake is another Eurowagon destined to be a no-show in North America. Somewhat boxy compared with the shapely XF sedan on which it's based, the wagon body acquits itself with cargo capacity of 59 cubic feet.

LAND ROVER The idea of cutting the top off the rakish Evoque sport utility may seem frivolous to some, but Land Rover seems to think its demographic of rugged individuals is starved for the opportunity of topless motoring. The result is the Evoque Convertible Concept, the answer to a question that someone, apparently, was asking.

MERCEDES-BENZ When it was introduced in 1997, many critics questioned whether the A-Class compact belonged in the Mercedes model line at all. But the car has sold fairly well. Now Mercedes has decided the A-Class is worthy of a redesign, making it a likely prospect for the United States market, where it would compete against models like the BMW 1 Series.

PORSCHE The Boxster has been so successful as an entry-level model for Porsche that memories of awkward earlier designs like the 914 have almost faded. A smartly restyled third-generation version of the Boxster, borrowing design cues and technology from the brand's top models, made its official debut here to general acclaim.

TOYOTA For its next generation of hybrids, Toyota is aiming for huge fuel economy gains. The FT-Bh concept car is a futuristic take on a Yaris-size vehicle with a 1-liter engine, lithium-ion batteries and a flyweight structure. It would, the company said, achieve the equivalent of up to 112 m.p.g.

VOLKSWAGEN More plug-in hybrid technology was on display here in the form of the Cross Coupe concept, a diesel-electric variation of the gas-electric design study shown in Tokyo last year. VW also unveiled a delectable Golf-based GTI convertible that it said would not be offered in the United States.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: Because of an editing error, an article last Sunday about the Geneva Motor Show misspelled the name of the Opel plug-in hybrid that shared Europe's Car of the Year award with the Chevrolet Volt. It is the Ampera, not Impera.